April is a film photographer and model from London, Ontario. Shooting primarily with Polaroid and Holga cameras, April says in her own words – “I look for emotion to tell a story and reveal the beauty in my characters. Beyond the aesthetic qualities imparted by instant film and long exposures, my empathetic relationship with the person in front of the camera infuses my images with comfortable intimacy and perhaps a touch of nostalgia.”

above: Images by April-Lea Hutchinsonbelow: On the set with April and model Kate (Image by Michael Raso)

About The Film Photography Podcast:Launched in October of 2009, the Film Photography Podcast is a 90 minute, bi-weekly Internet radio program, exploring a wide range of topics relevant to the experienced and aspiring photographer using film as a medium.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Living in the Plastic Age: Topics include Holga, Vivitar PN2011 and plastic cameras, 110 film update, testing the Ansco Pioneer 616 camera, three big giveaways and more. Hosted by Michael Raso with Duane Polcou and John Fedele.

“After the success of Kodak's 126 cartridge "Instamatic" cameras, 110 was introduced in 1972 to take advantage of improvements in film allowing smaller format negatives. The first Kodak cameras being branded Pocket Instamatic.”http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/110_film

Ansco Pioneer 616 camera testThe camera was designed by New York-born industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss who had made telephone designs for Bell Telephone Laboratories before. Kodak introduced 616 film in 1932. The film is 70mm wide. YouTube segment from the show (below)

"Johalla Projects is excited to host the release party for 100Polaroids, Patrick Sansone’s new book of photographs. This pastsummer, we exhibited Sansone’s polaroids in the Art of Touring; these images were the product of years of travel with his band, Wilco, that begun as a therapeutic activity to relieve the stress of touring.Though untrained as a photographer, his compositions reflect the vernacular style of Walker Evans and Amy Stein and present a conceptual landscape of America as seen through Sansone’s eye."

Pat Sansone and John Stirratt in a segment of an interview with The Autumn Defense on Chicago TV show "Corporate Country Sucks"

Monday, November 8, 2010

When Polaroid announced in 2008 that it would cease production on all of its instant films, no one would have dreamed that in two short years a group of entrepreneurs called The Impossible Project would be able to once again produce instant analog films for Polaroid cameras.

As producer and host of The Film Photography Podcast, I’m thrilled to announce that Impossible Project’s Dr. Florian Kaps and Dave Bias will be my special guests on the upcoming November 12, 2010 (Episode 20) Internet radio show.

I’ve been shooting and experimenting with Impossible Project films since they were released earlier this year. I would like to share some on my favorite images shot on Impossible PX 70 Color Shade / First Flush Instant Film (below)

First up, Duane and I interviewed FPP listener Mat Marrash. Mat trekked out from Ohio to visit NYC. He had his Temba camera bag stuffed with cameras!!!

We also met up with FPP listeners Michael Calleia and Robert Tuttle. Both guys spent a few minutes with Duane and myself discussing cameras and film.

(above)Unique Photo guys Mike Zawadzki and friend at the PDN

I chatted with Mike Zawadzki from Unique Photo about Unique supporting film and hands-on instructions on using film cameras.

Michelle Bates (pictured above) was at the Freestyle Photographic booth signing copies of her new book – “PLASTIC CAMERAS Toying with Creativity.” She was kind enough to chat with me about her her new book and experiences with Holga cameras.

We’re giving away one copy of Michelle’s new book on The Film Photography Podcast. To enter, please e-mail your name, address and a paragraph about yourself (and your photography) to: FilmPhotographyPodcast (at) gmail.com Entries must be in by November 19, 2010. One winner will be picked at random on our December podcast.

Duane and I were thrilled to interview Keith Canham. Keith (pictured below) is owner of Canham Cameras, Inc., specializing in custom made, large format cameras designed for professional photographers. Keith’s special project is working directly with Eastman Kodak and photographers around the world to assure that film stock is available for large format cameras.

Scott DeSabato, Marketing Manager, Professional Film, Eastman Kodak Company (pictured middle above w/ Duane Polcou and Keith Canham) was on hand to share and discuss information about new film stocks and the bright outlook for film photography. According to Scott, “It’s been a great year for film.”

“My work as a photographer is part of a longstanding relationship with the camera that began with modeling. I have a fondness for film and a deep desire to photograph people as people, breaking from expected norms of beauty. In my work, I look for emotion, try to tell a story, and reveal the beauty in my characters. Beyond the aesthetic qualities imparted by instant film and long exposures, my empathetic relationship with the person in front of the camera infuses my images with comfortable intimacy and perhaps a touch of nostalgia. I create timeless images using a mix of Medium Format and Polaroid Film. I am a purist at heart.”- http://aprilleaphoto.carbonmade.com/about

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

In Film Photography Podcast 18 (October 25, 2010) Michael Raso mentioned how he had developed some film he found in a second-hand camera, and how special it was to have the film developed to look at these photographs from a by-gone era, with no idea who the people are in the images. This reminded me of a couple of years ago when my Dad gave me a box of old slides he had taken in the 1960's to see if I could transfer them to digital so we could look at them again.

Unfortunately I didn't have a scanner at the time, so I had to come up with the odd DIY contraption you can see at the beginning of the post. Although by no means perfect, this gave me the means to scan the old chromes, and I thought it might be helpful to re-visit and share the technique with other "FPPers" who, like me, haven't got access to a flat-bed or dedicated slide scanner.

I was lucky that included with the slides was an old plastic viewer, and you'll need one too if you're going to have a go at this technique. . Next I had to use my Fujifilm s5700 Bridge Camera. This was important because the camera has a great macro facility, the lens can focus right up close, unlike dSLR's which would require a special lens. If you've got a digital compact, check to see if it's got a macro mode and this will probably work.

I simply took the slide-viewer and used rubber bands to fix it to the front of the camera, adding a Cokin Filter holder adapter to give the viewer a stable base to sit against. Be careful to check that as the camera focusses the lens element doesn't bash against the slide-viewer, and it's also worth turning off the auto power-off function, because with compacts the lens will often move in and out during the power on / off cycle.

The cheap little slide-viewer I had has no light source, so I found the whitest looking bulb in our house, fixed everything to a tripod, and pointed my makeshift scanner in the right direction. I tried natural light, but it just wasn't bright enough. Now I had to set up the white balance. I was going to be scanning a couple of hundred slides, so there's no way I was going to be working in RAW, so I had to get it right in camera. With no slide in the camera the viewer just shows as a white box - perfect. I just took a custom white balance and the camera was almost ready to go.

Once we've got the physical and white-balance side of things sorted, now it's time to take a few shots to check we've got a good focus and that the slide is nice and flat in the holder. With modern Auto Focus systems, this probably won't be a problem. Use the LCD display on the back of your camera to zoom in and check sharpness. The trickier aspect is the exposure. Because the slide isn't filling the frame, the camera sees a large amount of black and therefore over-exposes the area we want. I tried spot-metering, but in the end I found that switching to Manual Mode was the best option, allowing me to capture the most detail.

It's worth mentioning that these 50 year old slides still have way more detail in them than I could capture with the digital sensor in my camera, the reproductions here give you a good idea, but the colours and contrast are much better when you look at the originals, even just through a viewer.

Once I'd captured the slides, it was time for basic post-processing. Because I "scanned" over 300 slides, it was always going to be real the real basics - levels, colour correction and a pass of Noise Ninja for some of the slides.

You could spend a lot longer, and in hind-sight I could have blown more of the dust off the slides before I started, then spent more time in post removing the obvious blotches and blemishes you can see in these examples. However my simple slide scanner did it's job, breathing new life into these old slides, and allowing my Dad to share these memories with some of his friends.

What Do You Think? Have you had to come up with any DIY solutions to photographic problems, or have you had to digitize old family photographs or slides? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.

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About:Launched in October of 2009, the Film Photography Podcast is a 90 minute, bi-weekly Internet radio program, exploring a wide range of topics relevant to the experienced and aspiring photographer using film as a medium. Hosts Michael Raso and Duane Polcou enthusiastically dissect and debate the pros-and-cons of film formats, do-it-yourself techniques, digital technologies, and vintage and contemporary cameras and accessories in a thorough, informative and casual manner. Regular features include Camera tests and reviews, “book of the month”, interviews, a listener-generated Q&A, and film-related giveaways.